Celebrating the holidays in a world without "Superman"

Happy Thanksgiving reader!  There is so much to be thankful for, and I certainly have gratitude in my heart to God.  But I have to admit that there is a part of me that is feeling sad today.  There was a Thanksgiving tradition that I used enjoy.  You see, my parents and I used to go to Foothills Bible Church.  After my dad passed away, Mom and I stayed at Foothills for a little while, but ultimately for various reasons, we knew the time had come to close that chapter of life and move on to another church.  After looking for several months, we have found one.

While our new church does have Thanksgiving festivities, Foothills had a unique Thanksgiving tradition: their Thanksgiving service consisted of nothing more than people articulating their thanks to God.  No sermon, and hardly any music; just folks sharing from their heart.  Another aspect of this memorable tradition is that the tone of the service was always raw, vulnerable, and emotional.  Tears often flowed freely as many in the church congregation shared the painful season they endured, but through it all, God had been faithful.

My mom and I were only a few months into life without my dad when the annual Foothills Thanksgiving morning service was upon us.  Unfortunately, due to the inclement weather of a snow day, the service was cancelled.  This was so disappointing to me.  I never got the chance to share my heart in that special church service.  So in this blog I want to express what I might have said that day.  I think I would have said something like this:

Church family, my world was forever changed when my dad, Jerry Bauer, unexpectedly passed away.  He was only 60 years old.  No one could have ever known that this was going to happen; Dad was the epitome of health.  The official cause of death was that a blood clot had developed – one that nobody even knew about – and traveled to one of the coronary arteries in his heart.  Biblically speaking, however, I know that God had written in His book all the days my dad was going to be on this planet before one of them even happened – Psalm 139:16.  But to lose him has been the most intense pain of my adult life.

What makes matters worse is to contemplate how my dad would often swoop in and save the day, like Superman saves Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen.  In fact, I have often called my dad "Superman" because he had the same kind of selflessness, humility, and virtue as Superman.  Dad was the provider and protector of the family.  Now that he is gone, I feel like I’m celebrating the holidays in a world without “Superman”.

 

I could go on, but let me just wrap this up by saying my faith in God has been my anchor.  I really don’t know how I could have endured this without the Lord.  There is a song by Christian singer Micah Tyler called Even Then. Micah proclaims my heart cry when he sings, “Even when it feels like my world is shaken; even when I’ve had all that I can take, I know You never let me go.  And even when the waters won’t stop rising; even when I’m caught in the dead of a night, I know no matter how it ends, You’re with me even then.  And even in the middle of a struggle…even in the thick of the battle, and even through the valley of the shadows, You alone are my defense when I’m standing on Your promises.”

Kevin